Divorce in Oregon, start to finish
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Oregon gives you the forms for free, and its self-help packets are some of the best in the country. What they don’t give you is which path is actually yours, what the real deadlines are once you file, or the one confidentiality rule that trips up almost every self-represented filer. That’s this.
Put in the day you filed and this page works out every deadline in your case, then hands you a calendar file that reminds you a week before each one and again the day before. It opens in the calendar you already use. Free, no account, nothing stored.
Which forms do you actually need?
Your route and its conditions, the forms grouped by route, how filing actually works in Oregon, and the sequence with its costs.
First, which route you are on. Each one opens to the conditions the rule actually sets.
Co-Petition
Available only where:
- Both spouses will sign the same petition, so neither has to be served.
Petitioner and Respondent
This is the route where either of these is true:
- One spouse files and the other will sign an Acceptance of Service.
- One spouse files and the other has to be formally served.
Grouped exactly as Oregon labels them. Every number links to the official PDF.
Co-Petition — no children 1 form
- Co-Petition — Co-Petition for Dissolution of Marriage/RDP — no children
Co-Petition — with children 1 form
- Co-Petition — Co-Petition for Dissolution of Marriage/RDP — with Children
Petitioner and Respondent — no children 2 forms
Petitioner and Respondent — with children 2 forms
You may e-file, but you do not have to
The checklist is not something you file. It is your worktable — what to do, in what order, and what it costs. The forms are what reaches the court, and this is how they get there in Oregon.
- Portal
- Oregon eCourt / OJD File & Serve
- Paper
- Still accepted — you can file over the counter.
- What it costs
- No portal fee published.
- Account
- Only if the self-represented party opts in — UTCR 21.030(1) registration and login. No registration cost is published in the rule.
- With a fee waiver
- Fee waiver/deferral is available at the point of e-filing. UTCR 21.050(2): "A filer may apply for a waiver or deferral of court fees and costs, as provided in ORS 21.682 and ORS 21.685, when submitting for electronic filing a document." UTCR 21.050(1) otherwise requires filing fees to be paid at the time of e-filing. The rules do not separately address whether a waiver reaches any vendor convenience fee.
- Worth knowing
- Oregon's mandate is keyed to Oregon State Bar membership, not to party status, which is why self-represented filers fall outside it automatically. Usefully for low-income filers, the fee waiver or deferral application can be submitted through the e-filing system at the moment of filing rather than requiring a separate counter trip.
Each step with the forms it names and the money it costs. The full detail of every step is in the section below. Print this part.
| # | Step | Forms it names | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm residency | None named | — |
| 2 | File your petition packet | Co-PetitionPetition | $301 |
| 3 | Get your spouse served — or skip this if you’re Co-Petitioning then they have 30 days | None named | — |
| 4 | Respondent’s window to answer 30 days from service | None named | — |
| 5 | Parenting class and/or mediation, if you have kids | None named | $20 · $200 |
| 6 | Resolve the case — no fixed wait to do this | Co-PetitionPetition | — |
| 7 | Judgment entered | None named | — |
Every figure here is this page’s own, from the costs section below. A fee waiver application is free to file and is listed with the forms above.
| Filing fee — flat statewide, set by ORS 21.155 (not county-by-county) | $301 |
| Respondent’s first-appearance fee (same statute, same amount) | $301 |
| Sheriff or process server, if formal service is needed | $40–$90 |
| Parenting education class, per parent (if required by your county) — Multnomah $70 · Lane $60 · Washington $200 (combined mediation + class) | $60–$200 |
| Mediation, where a county requires or recommends it (check with the clerk — some counties fold this into the class fee above) | $0–$200 |
| Typical all-in, doing it yourselves, uncontested, no kids | ~$301–$340 |
| Typical all-in, uncontested, with kids | ~$360–$500 |
The short version8 points · tap one to jump to it
- Co-Petition or Petitioner and Respondent, and what each requires — Oregon calls this a “dissolution of marriage,” and it splits mainly on two things: whether there are minor children, and whether the spouses file together as Co-Petitioners or one of them files and serves the other.
- Every form Oregon publishes for a dissolution — Every form here is free from the Oregon Judicial Department, with the revision dates the clerk checks.
- Getting the forms and filling them in — Oregon's self-help packets are genuinely good — each one bundles the forms with plain-English instructions for your exact situation.
- Your deadlines, calculated — Oregon sets no fixed statutory waiting period after filing before a judge can sign your decree — that's real, and it's different from states with a mandatory cooling-off period.
- The order it actually happens in
- Oregon's trap: the Confidential Information Form — Oregon's Petition for Dissolution becomes a public court record.
- Support and parenting paperwork — if you have kids or are requesting support
- What this costs — File the Application and Declaration for Deferral or Waiver of Fees.
In this subject 8
1 · Co-Petition or Petitioner and Respondent, and what each requires
The short version8 points · tap one to jump to it
- Co-Petition or Petitioner and Respondent, and what each requires — Oregon calls this a “dissolution of marriage,” and it splits mainly on two things: whether there are minor children, and whether the spouses file together as Co-Petitioners or one of them files and serves the other.
- Every form Oregon publishes for a dissolution — Every form here is free from the Oregon Judicial Department, with the revision dates the clerk checks.
- Getting the forms and filling them in — Oregon's self-help packets are genuinely good — each one bundles the forms with plain-English instructions for your exact situation.
- Your deadlines, calculated — Oregon sets no fixed statutory waiting period after filing before a judge can sign your decree — that's real, and it's different from states with a mandatory cooling-off period.
- The order it actually happens in
- Oregon's trap: the Confidential Information Form — Oregon's Petition for Dissolution becomes a public court record.
- Support and parenting paperwork — if you have kids or are requesting support
- What this costs — File the Application and Declaration for Deferral or Waiver of Fees.
In this subject 8
Oregon calls this a “dissolution of marriage,” and it splits mainly on two things: whether there are minor children, and whether the spouses file together as Co-Petitioners or one of them files and serves the other. Getting the second one right is what saves a service fee and weeks of waiting.
Residency. ORS 107.075 requires one spouse to have lived in Oregon continuously for 6 months before filing — unless the marriage took place in Oregon, in which case that wait doesn’t apply and one spouse currently living here is enough. Where neither applies yet, the options are to wait out the six months, or to look at where either spouse does qualify.
Which children count. The with-children packets are the ones for children of the marriage under 18, and unmarried children aged 18–20 who are still in school.
Co-Petition
Oregon’s fastest route: both spouses sign and file one petition together. No summons, no service, no waiting on a response clock — some Co-Petition cases are finalized in as little as a day once the paperwork is complete and a judge signs it. The Confidential Information Form, the Record of Dissolution and, where there are children, a parenting plan and support paperwork are all still required.
Available only where:
- Both spouses will sign the same petition, so neither has to be served.
Co-Petition forms carry a Multnomah County caption; clerks elsewhere are worth asking before filing.
Petitioner and Respondent
One spouse files; the other responds. This is still fully doable without a lawyer where the substance is agreed — Oregon’s packets are built for exactly that, and they bundle the instructions, the Petition, the Summons and the supporting forms together.
This is the route where either of these is true:
- One spouse files and the other will sign an Acceptance of Service.
- One spouse files and the other has to be formally served.
An Acceptance of Service skips formal service entirely — no sheriff, no process server. It has to be signed after the case is filed, and it only confirms the papers were received, not that the signer agrees with the Petition.
Where Oregon’s own packets say to get advice first. Oregon’s self-help packets flag three situations as ones where advice is worth getting before using these forms alone: dividing a pension or retirement account, an active bankruptcy, or a Registered Domestic Partnership formed in Oregon before February 4, 2008.
2 · Every form Oregon publishes for a dissolution
The complete list, not a shortlist — because which forms are needed depends on facts only you and, if you need one, your lawyer can weigh. Every form here is free from the Oregon Judicial Department, with the revision dates the clerk checks. The four packets are listed first; the rows under them are the individual documents, and the ones the packets already bundle say so.
The Cusp is not a law firm and cannot tell you which forms are right for your case. Everything here is general information about how Oregon handles divorce, and every form below is published free by Oregon itself — you do not have to buy anything from anyone to get them. If your situation is not straightforward, a consultation with an Oregon family lawyer costs far less than fixing a filing that went wrong.
| Form | What it is | Route | Rev. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Co-Petition | Co-Petition for Dissolution of Marriage/RDP — with Children | Co-Petition — with children | 02/23 | Download |
| Co-Petition | Co-Petition for Dissolution of Marriage/RDP — no children | Co-Petition — no children | 08/19 | Download |
| Petition | Petition for Dissolution of Marriage/RDP — with Children (full packet: instructions + Petition + Summons + all supporting forms) | Petitioner and Respondent — with children | 01/26 | Download |
| Petition | Petition for Dissolution of Marriage/RDP — no Children (full packet: instructions + Petition + Summons + all supporting forms) | Petitioner and Respondent — no children | 09/25 | Download |
| Response | Matching Response packet — for your spouse, if they’re not signing an Acceptance of Service — with Children | Petitioner and Respondent — with children | 09/25 | Download |
| Response | Matching Response packet — for your spouse, if they’re not signing an Acceptance of Service — no Children | Petitioner and Respondent — no children | 09/25 | Download |
| — | Declaration Supporting General Judgment | Co-Petition | — | in packet above |
| — | Declaration in Support of Judgment (included in packet) | Petitioner and Respondent — where the terms are agreed | — | in packet above |
| — | General Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage/RDP — with Children (included in the Petitioner/Respondent packet) | Both routes — with children | 01/26 | Download |
| — | General Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage/RDP (included in the Petitioner/Respondent packet) | Both routes — no children | 02/25 | Download |
| — | Confidential Information Form (CIF) — one per party (included in the Petitioner/Respondent packet) | Both routes | 04/19 | in packet above |
| — | Notice of CIF Filing (included in the Petitioner/Respondent packet) | Both routes | — | in packet above |
| — | Record of Dissolution of Marriage, Annulment or RDP (included in the Petitioner/Respondent packet) | Both routes | — | in packet above |
| — | Notice of Statutory Restraining Order Preventing Dissipation of Assets (included in the Petitioner/Respondent packet) | Both routes | — | in packet above |
| — | Parenting Plan (included in the Petitioner/Respondent packet) | Both routes — with children | — | in packet above |
| — | Child Support Worksheets — if requesting child support (included in the Petitioner/Respondent packet) | Both routes — with children | — | in packet above |
| — | Uniform Support Declaration — if requesting support | Co-Petition — with children | — | in packet above |
| — | Uniform Support Declaration — if requesting spousal/partner or child support (included in packet) | Petitioner and Respondent | — | in packet above |
| — | Acceptance of Service — your spouse signs (included in packet) | Petitioner and Respondent — where the spouse accepts service | 08/19 | in packet above |
| — | Certificate of Service — filed by whoever serves your spouse (included in packet) | Petitioner and Respondent — where the spouse is served | — | in packet above |
| — | Ex Parte Motion for Order of Default and Declaration in Support — if your spouse never responds (included in packet) | Petitioner and Respondent — where the terms are not yet agreed | — | in packet above |
| — | Order on Motion for Default (included in packet) | Petitioner and Respondent — where the terms are not yet agreed | — | in packet above |
| — | Fee Deferral or Waiver Application and Declaration — optional | Both routes | — | Download |
Every one of these is free. The Petitioner/Respondent packets already bundle most of the smaller forms with instructions — download fresh each time, since clerks reject superseded revisions. Co-Petition forms carry a Multnomah County caption; confirm with your own clerk if you’re filing elsewhere. Full catalog: courts.oregon.gov.
3 · Getting the forms and filling them in
Oregon’s self-help packets are genuinely good — each one bundles the forms with plain-English instructions for your exact situation. Here’s what nobody tells you about actually using them.
You may e-file, but you do not have to Your choice
- Portal
- Oregon eCourt / OJD File & Serve
- Paper
- Still accepted — you can file over the counter.
- What it costs
- No portal fee published.
- Account
- Only if the self-represented party opts in — UTCR 21.030(1) registration and login. No registration cost is published in the rule.
- With a fee waiver
- Fee waiver/deferral is available at the point of e-filing. UTCR 21.050(2): "A filer may apply for a waiver or deferral of court fees and costs, as provided in ORS 21.682 and ORS 21.685, when submitting for electronic filing a document." UTCR 21.050(1) otherwise requires filing fees to be paid at the time of e-filing. The rules do not separately address whether a waiver reaches any vendor convenience fee.
- Worth knowing
- Oregon's mandate is keyed to Oregon State Bar membership, not to party status, which is why self-represented filers fall outside it automatically. Usefully for low-income filers, the fee waiver or deferral application can be submitted through the e-filing system at the moment of filing rather than requiring a separate counter trip.
Step one — download the right packet, not just a form
Oregon publishes these as bundled packets — instructions plus every form you’ll need, in order — rather than one form at a time. The full statewide library lives here:
courts.oregon.gov — Divorce Forms
Don’t reuse a saved copy or one a friend sent you. The no-children packet is marked OJD Official (Sep 2025) and the with-children packet OJD OFFICIAL (Jan 2026) — both print their revision date on every page footer, and clerks reject superseded versions.
Step two — no notary needed
Unlike some states, Oregon’s dissolution forms generally don’t require a notary. Instead, you sign an unsworn declaration printed directly on the form: “I hereby declare that the above statements are true and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand they are made for use in court and I am subject to penalty for perjury.” You just sign it — no notary block, no witness, no video call. This applies to the Petition, the Declaration in Support of Judgment, and the Certificate of Service.
Step three — the Confidential Information Form (read the trap in Section 6 first)
Every packet requires a Confidential Information Form (CIF), one per party, filed separately from your Petition. Your Social Security number, date of birth, and similar identifiers go only on the CIF — never on the Petition itself, which becomes a public record. This is the single most common way self-represented filers accidentally expose their own information. More on this below.
Step four — file it: paper, mail, or e-file
Oregon’s self-represented filers are not required to e-file. You can walk paper into the circuit court clerk’s office in your county, or mail it in. If you’d rather file electronically, Oregon’s statewide system is Odyssey File & Serve (OJD eFile) — free to register, pay the filing fee by card when you submit.
Oregon also runs a free guided interview tool called Guide & File that answers questions and auto-populates your forms, then lets you print, mail, or e-file the result. It covers divorce, separation, and custody. Worth trying before you fill anything in by hand: courts.oregon.gov — OJD Guide & File.
Step five — serving your spouse, or skipping it entirely
If you and your spouse are filing as Co-Petitioners, there is no service step at all — you both sign the same petition and file it together. Otherwise, service must happen after you file (serving early means paying to serve again), and you cannot serve the papers yourself. Two real options:
| Method | What it takes |
|---|---|
| Acceptance of Service | If it’s safe to hand your spouse the papers yourself and they’ll sign, no formal service is needed at all. Signing it only confirms they received the papers — not that they agree with anything in the Petition. |
| Formal service | A sheriff, private process server, or other method allowed under the Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure. Cannot be done by you personally. |
If proof of service isn’t on file within 63 days of filing, the court can send you a notice of dismissal — you then get 28 more days to fix it. Separately, if your spouse never responds, your Motion for Order of Default must be filed by the 91st day after you filed the Petition — not 91 days from service. Miss either window and the case can be dismissed outright.
4 · Your deadlines, calculated
Oregon sets no fixed statutory waiting period after filing before a judge can sign your decree — that’s real, and it’s different from states with a mandatory cooling-off period. What Oregon does have is a strict response-and-default clock once you serve your spouse. Enter your dates and we’ll turn the real rules into actual dates on your calendar.
5 · The order it actually happens in
6 · Oregon’s trap: the Confidential Information Form
Oregon’s Petition for Dissolution becomes a public court record. To keep your Social Security number, date of birth, and similar identifiers out of that public file, the state requires a separate Confidential Information Form (CIF) — filed alongside, but apart from, the Petition. The rule is explicit in the OJD’s own instructions: “Do not put Social Security numbers on your Petition.”
Self-represented filers routinely write their SSN or full date of birth directly on the Petition because it feels like the natural place for identifying details. Under ORS 107.085 and Uniform Trial Court Rule 2.130, that information belongs only on the CIF — one filed for each party — with a separate Notice of CIF Filing served on the other side. If you put it on the Petition instead, it’s now sitting in a document the public, and often the internet, can access. There is no simple way to un-ring that bell once a court record is public.
One more version of the same trap: real property and debts you leave vague or leave out of your Petition entirely generally cannot be added back in later except in very limited circumstances. Be specific, and be complete, the first time.
7 · Support and parenting paperwork — if you have kids or are requesting support
These only apply if they’re relevant to your case — check them off as you confirm you don’t need one, or as you finish it.
Only needed if you’re requesting spousal/partner support or child support and the other side might contest it. If you don’t file it with your Petition, you have 30 days after receiving the Response to serve it if your spouse opposes your support claim. The state’s child support guidelines calculator is at justice.oregon.gov/guidelines.
8 · What this costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Filing fee — flat statewide, set by ORS 21.155 (not county-by-county) | $301 |
| Respondent’s first-appearance fee (same statute, same amount) | $301 |
| Sheriff or process server, if formal service is needed | $40–$90 |
| Parenting education class, per parent (if required by your county) — Multnomah $70 · Lane $60 · Washington $200 (combined mediation + class) | $60–$200 |
| Mediation, where a county requires or recommends it (check with the clerk — some counties fold this into the class fee above) | $0–$200 |
| Typical all-in, doing it yourselves, uncontested, no kids | ~$301–$340 |
| Typical all-in, uncontested, with kids | ~$360–$500 |
File the Application and Declaration for Deferral or Waiver of Fees. The court can waive the fee outright, defer when it’s due, or put you on a payment plan, based on income against the federal poverty guidelines. It’s a single statewide form — no separate version per county.
Attorney costs below are illustrative, member-reported figures for uncontested cases — not a quote. Contested cases involving custody disputes, business valuation, or hidden assets run well past this range.
| Scenario | Member-reported range |
|---|---|
| Uncontested, no kids, flat-fee attorney review only | $600–$1,200 |
| Uncontested, with kids, attorney-drafted judgment | $1,500–$3,000 |
| Contested, one attorney retained | $5,000–$15,000+ |
Does cheating change the money in Oregon?
No — the court is forbidden to weigh it at all. The rule: “the court shall not consider the fault, if any, of either of the parties” (ORS 107.036(3)). How all fifty states answer this.
Reconciled, and it did not work? No fault ground survives in Oregon, so forgiving an affair cannot cost you the divorce — which is an answer rather than a gap: condonation, state by state. If the decision itself is what you are sitting with rather than the law, start here.
What this is. A guide to Oregon’s own process, built from the Oregon Revised Statutes (including ORS 107.075, 107.085, and 21.155), the Oregon Uniform Trial Court Rules (UTCR 2.130), and the official OJD self-help dissolution packets published at courts.oregon.gov — the “Dissolution Petitioners with Children” packet (OJD OFFICIAL, Jan 2026) and “Dissolution Petitioners without Children” packet (OJD Official, Sep 2025), plus their matching Respondent packets. The forms themselves are free and this guide links you to them rather than reselling them.
What this is not. The Cusp is not a law firm and does not practice law. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing here tells you which choice is right for your particular situation — only what Oregon requires of each path. If your case involves contested custody, a business, hidden assets, domestic violence, retirement division, or a spouse with a lawyer, talk to one yourself; Oregon’s own packets flag several of these same categories as “talk to a lawyer” situations, and the Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service (503.684.3763, or 800.452.7636 toll-free in Oregon) is a reasonable place to start.
Confirm current numbers with the clerk. Parenting class and mediation requirements, and their fees, are set independently by each circuit court’s Supplemental Local Rules and change without a statewide announcement. The Co-Petition forms linked in this guide carry a Multnomah County caption because that is the version hosted statewide by OJD; if you’re filing elsewhere, confirm with your circuit court clerk whether they want the caption adjusted before you file. Where this guide could not verify an exact figure, form, or deadline interpretation with confidence, it says so or points you to courts.oregon.gov rather than guessing.
Four things can happen to the house in an Oregon divorce
Oregon is one of the twenty. The moment a petition is filed, an automatic order takes effect on both of you, barring either from selling or encumbering property. Nobody is served with it separately and nobody explains it. Breaking it is contempt.
One of you buys the other out, you sell later, you sell now, or the court decides. For a great many people the right answer is not to sell at all – and three of the four routes earn us nothing.
The four routes, compared · Keeping it: the buyout and the carrying cost · Selling: capital gains, basis and timing · Finding an agent who has done a divorce sale · What two households cost
Need a vetted attorney, mediator, or financial analyst in Oregon?
Browse The Cusp’s professional directory — rated only by verified clients, never ranked by who paid the most.
Browse the directory →The Cusp · All 50 state kits · Find a professional · About
Ask for an introduction to an agent → — who we would introduce you to, what the referral fee is and who pays it, and why the answer is sometimes that you should not sell at all.
Everything we have written about Oregon specifically. Every figure on these pages is quoted from Oregon’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.
- Modifying support after divorce
- Modifying custody and parenting time after divorce
- Check your state’s rules in one place (modification checker)
- What it costs to file
- Child custody
- Child support
- Guardians ad litem and child representation
- Travel, custody and relocation
- Alimony
- Property, support and legal fees
- Protective orders
- Changing your name back
- Legal help you can afford
- Verified professionals
The most expensive mistakes in a divorce are made in the year after it, by people who thought the case was over. After the divorce is the checklist for that year — the health-coverage clock, the retirement order a decree cannot replace, and the beneficiary form that outranks your will.
Filing is one household becoming two, and the second one starts empty. The two-household list is what to send the people who keep asking how they can help — the second of everything, and the half of it that costs nothing. Some people call it a divorce registry.
All 23 Oregon divorce forms, listed by the number the clerk will ask for — 6 with an official form number, 9 linked straight to the state’s own file, each with its revision date where the state publishes one. Open the Oregon form list →
Common questions about filing for divorce in Oregon
Short answers to what people ask most before they start. Each one points at the part of this page that covers it in full.
How do I file for divorce in Oregon?
This page sets out the order it happens in for Oregon: which form opens the case, what has to be served on the other person and when, and what the court needs before it will finish. It is written to be followed in sequence rather than read through.
What forms do I need to file for divorce in Oregon?
The form list on this page gives the official Oregon form numbers, each one’s revision date, and a link to the copy on the court’s own site rather than a copy hosted here. Using a superseded revision is one of the most common reasons a filing comes back, which is why the dates are shown.
How much does it cost to file for divorce in Oregon?
$301 to open the case, and that is only the filing fee — it does not cover service, copies, any required class, or a lawyer. The full breakdown for Oregon, with every figure traced to the court’s own published schedule and dated, is at what it costs to file in Oregon.
What gets an Oregon divorce filing rejected?
This page has a section on exactly that — the specific mistakes that get a filing returned in Oregon rather than a general list. Most of them are procedural and cost weeks rather than money: the wrong form revision, a missing signature or notarization, service done in a way the state does not accept, or filing before a residency requirement is met.
How long does a divorce take in Oregon?
There is a timeline on this page built from Oregon’s own statutory day-counts, not from averages. The honest short answer is that the waiting period is a floor and not a prediction: an uncontested case can finish close to it, and a contested one is governed by the court’s calendar rather than the statute.
Where does the information on this page come from?
Oregon’s own courts and statutes. Every form links to the court’s site, every fee is quoted from the published schedule with the date it was last checked, and where something could not be confirmed from an official source this site says so instead of estimating. It is free, with no account and no paywall.
Does cheating change the money in Oregon?
No, and that is a deliberate choice in the statute rather than a gap in it. Oregon forbids the court to weigh marital misconduct when it sets spousal support, so evidence of an affair does not help you there and gathering it may cost money for nothing. Ten states do this, most of them in the same six words. The fifty-state table sets out the section this comes from, and the card higher up this page quotes your state’s own words.
Choosing an agent for a divorce sale is a different problem from choosing one for an ordinary sale: who the agent is allowed to talk to, who has to sign, what happens when one of you will not, and the three separate conflicts of interest that come up when one spouse found the agent first. How to choose a real estate agent for a divorce sale sets out what to ask, and how to check a credential yourself — no divorce credential is official with the National Association of Realtors.
The Cusp receives a referral fee from agents it vets and trains to handle divorce clients.
Key deadlines at a glance
These are the same deadlines the calculator above works out, shown as days counted from the day you file or the day your spouse is served. Use the calculator for your exact dates.
No minor children
| Step | When | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Petition filed | The day you file | The clock starts here. Oregon sets no fixed minimum wait after this date before a judge can sign your decree. |
| Spouse served | The day your spouse is served (or signs a waiver) | Their 30-day clock starts the day after this date. |
| Respondent’s answer window closes | 31 days after service | 30 days from the day after service. No response means you can move for an Order of Default (see the 91-day deadline above, which controls first). |
| Proof of service deadline, if not already on file | 63 days after filing | If service hasn’t been completed and filed by now, the court can send a notice of dismissal. |
| Deadline to file for default, if your spouse never responds | 91 days after filing | Counted from your filing date, not from service. Miss this and the case can be dismissed even if your spouse simply never answered. |
With minor children
| Step | When | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Petition filed | The day you file | The clock starts here. Oregon sets no fixed minimum wait after this date before a judge can sign your decree. |
| Spouse served | The day your spouse is served (or signs a waiver) | Their 30-day clock starts the day after this date. |
| Respondent’s answer window closes | 31 days after service | 30 days from the day after service. No response means you can move for an Order of Default (see the 91-day deadline above, which controls first). |
| Proof of service deadline, if not already on file | 63 days after filing | If service hasn’t been completed and filed by now, the court can send a notice of dismissal. |
| Deadline to file for default, if your spouse never responds | 91 days after filing | Counted from your filing date, not from service. Miss this and the case can be dismissed even if your spouse simply never answered. |
Your county
Divorce rules are set by the state, but each county or court has its own forms, deadlines, classes and filing habits. Choose yours.
Or go straight to your county or court:
Clackamas County Circuit CourtJackson County Circuit CourtLane County Circuit Court (call to confirm)Marion County Circuit Court (call to confirm)Multnomah County Circuit Court (call to confirm)Washington County Circuit CourtClackamas County Circuit Court
Clackamas County offers a free Family Law Facilitator by appointment. Local forms packets can be bought in person for a small fee, usually $2 to $5, or downloaded free. The court has its own rules and forms pages. The facilitator page does not describe a parenting class or mediation program.
Who to contact: 1000 Courthouse Rd, Oregon City, OR 97045; 503-655-8447; facilitator 971-396-0560
Local rules · Local forms · Court website
Where this comes from
Last checked 2026-11-10. Tell us if this is out of date
Jackson County Circuit Court
Jackson County requires mediation for custody and parenting-time issues under its local rule SLR 8.013(4), starting with a Motion for Mediation, an orientation video and a questionnaire. Parents in custody cases must take the online parenting class Children in Between, which the court says is the only approved online class. The court also has a Family Law Self-Represented Center.
Who to contact: 100 S. Oakdale Ave, Medford, OR 97501; 541-776-7171
Local rules · Local forms · Court website
Where this comes from
Last checked 2026-11-10. Tell us if this is out of date
Lane County Circuit Court Call or check the court website to confirm
Lane County lists a Family Court Assistance Office and has its own local rules and forms pages. We could not confirm parenting class or mediation requirements.
Who to contact: 125 East 8th Ave, Eugene, OR 97401; Court Administration 541-682-4020
Local rules · Local forms · Court website
Where this comes from
Last checked 2026-11-10. Tell us if this is out of date
Marion County Circuit Court Call or check the court website to confirm
Marion County has its own family law help page, local rules, local forms and a mediation page. The home page does not mention a parenting class, and we did not read the mediation page itself.
Who to contact: 100 High St NE, Salem, OR 97301; 503-588-5105
Local rules · Local forms · Court website
Where this comes from
Last checked 2026-11-10. Tell us if this is out of date
Multnomah County Circuit Court Call or check the court website to confirm
The Multnomah court has its own rules page, forms page and family page in addition to the statewide resources. We could not confirm local parenting class or mediation requirements from the official pages we read.
Who to contact: 1200 SW 1st Ave, Portland, OR 97204
Local rules · Local forms · Court website
Where this comes from
Last checked 2026-11-10. Tell us if this is out of date
Washington County Circuit Court
Washington County has a Domestic Relations Department and Family Law Assistance Program with posted hours, including limited services late in the afternoon for emergencies and scheduled appointments. It also has its own local rules and local forms pages. We could not confirm parenting class or mediation requirements.
Who to contact: 145 NE 2nd Ave, Hillsboro, OR 97124; 503-846-8888
Local rules · Local forms · Court website
Where this comes from
Last checked 2026-11-10. Tell us if this is out of date
Not listed? Your county clerk of court can tell you the local rules. These are general information from court and clerk pages, last checked 2026-11-10, not legal advice.
Serving the papers in Oregon? Any competent adult 18 or older who is not a party; not you. No deadline found. (As we read the rules on 29 October 2026.) See who can serve a divorce summons and whether you can do it yourself, and find Oregon in our state-by-state serving table.
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How we can help
Understand the house first. Then talk to someone who gets it.
The house is usually the largest decision in a divorce, and the one people are least ready for. Here is what we do, in the order that makes sense.
1. Start with the facts, free
22 states have automatic orders that freeze both spouses the moment a divorce is filed, barring either one from selling or borrowing against the property. Is yours one of them?
Plain-English guides on what can happen to the house, what an automatic order stops you doing, and how the tax rules decide what a sale is worth. No account and nothing to buy.
- The four things that can happen to the house
- Selling the house: who signs, and the tax rules
- Keeping the house: the buyout and the carrying cost
2. Know when not to call an agent
Often the right answer is to wait, or to talk to your lawyer or an accountant first. We say so plainly. An agent is the wrong first call if nothing is filed, or if an order restricts what either of you can do with the property.
3. Talk to someone who gets it
When you do need an agent, we introduce you to a local agent who has completed our divorce real estate training and passed its 20-question exam. Before any introduction we check the license with the state regulator (any unresolved disciplinary action is a no), the agent’s closed sales, and a review rating of 4.7 or better. The introduction is free, and you are free to say no.
Ask for an introductionHow we are paid
You pay us nothing. Agents are not charged for the training, the exam or the free resources. If an introduction leads to a closed sale, the agent’s brokerage pays a referral fee out of its own commission, not out of your proceeds. A place on the panel cannot be bought.
General information, not legal or tax advice. The Cusp is not a law firm.
Selling a home in a divorce: what to ask a local listing agent
Selling the house is often the largest single decision in a divorce. These questions help you judge whether an agent has done it before. They do not replace your lawyer, who should approve the plan before anything is listed.
- Have you sold homes where both spouses had to sign, or where a court had to approve the sale? How many, and how recently?
- Does filing already restrain a sale in my state? Check the 50-state table and ask my lawyer before we sign anything.
- Who decides on price changes and which offers to accept when we disagree, and how will that be written down?
- Who pays the mortgage, taxes and insurance until closing, and what does the listing agreement say about it?
- Where will the sale proceeds be held until the decree says who gets what?
- How will you handle showings, access and lockboxes if we are not speaking?
- Will you give both spouses and both lawyers the same information at the same time?
- What happens to the listing agreement if we settle, reconcile or the case is delayed? What are the cancellation terms?
- Can I have your fee terms in writing and the names of past clients who sold during a divorce?